Twenty-nine members of the US Congress have called on US Secretary of State John Kerry to launch a major new Taiwan policy review.
They released their joint letter to Kerry on Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the previous review.
A senior source within the administration of US President Barack Obama told the Taipei Times that the Congressional letter needed in-depth study and that it was too early to comment on what action might be taken as a result.
However, several former US government officials and diplomats attending a conference on Thursday on the 1994 Taiwan policy review said that a new examination might not benefit Taiwan and they favored the current system of quietly accumulating policy changes in an incremental way.
The Congressional move was headed by House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward Royce, a Republican from California.
“We feel strongly that there is a need today to undertake a new and thorough Taiwan policy review, laying the basis for further expanding relations with Taiwan and thereby enhancing continued peace and stability in the region,” the letter said.
“In 1979 when we shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, Taiwan was ruled by a government claiming to represent China,” it added. “When the US conducted its last Taiwan policy review in 1994, Taiwan was just starting to emerge as a full democracy.”
“Over these past two decades, the people of Taiwan have consolidated their democracy and established a vibrant and pluralistic democracy in their country,” the letter said.
There would be strong Congressional support for opening up the relationship by scrapping many current restrictions, and allowing Taiwan’s leadership to visit Washington to discuss and negotiate trade and diplomatic developments.
“With the geopolitical shifts that have taken place in the Pacific during the past years and with the 2013 US rebalancing commitment to Asia, a second Taiwan policy review is overdue,” Formosan Association for Public Affairs president Mark Kao (高龍榮) said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
RSS